Bourgeois & Maurice

Bourgeois & Maurice return to Adelaide to give us another serving of their darkly-satirical cabaret. Setting their sights on topics like antibiotic-resistant pathogens, separatist British nationalism, and the propensity for old white men to irrecoverably fuck up the world, the duo lightly skewer their targets in their shiny, sequinned onesies.

photo credit Tony Kearney

Bourgeois Bourgeois is an excellent compère, keeping the energy high between songs, while Maurice Maurice, a beehived Moaning Myrtle on keys, plays the masterful foil to his segues and set-ups. The songs themselves are clever, layered, and catchy as hell – you'll finding yourself wanting to find revisit these tunes on Spotify for the drive home. My highlights were the 'Dear Santa' number the show closed on – a quickfire wishlist of social, political and supernatural changes the artists would like to see happen in the world – and 'British Values', which gently mocks the post-colonial, nationalistic sentiments that are currently steering the country towards a no-deal Brexit, insulin reserves be damned.

B&M were billed as having performed 'from a public toilet to the Royal Opera House', and unfortunately the venue was more the former than the latter. Much of the glamour was sucked out of the room by the musty Little Theatre decour – it's a pity the RCC couldn't throw more attention on the space. Fortunately, this act is good enough to (mostly) transport you away.

★★★★

Bourgeois & Maurice are playing at the RCC until the 10th March. Tickets are available here.